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Nintendo Might Not Be Behind All Copyright Takedowns

A fake employee may be to blame.

Nintendo has a bit of a reputation for being overprotective of their copyrights. Gaming personalities "Angry" Joe Vargas and Jim Sterling, among others, have had unpleasant run-ins with them. Adult artists have recently suffered copyright strikes against their fan creation. Fan games have popped up and disappeared overnight.

While details are unclear at this juncture, some of these occurrences might not be on the Big N themselves. That is, if YouTuber Kaze Emanuar is to be believed.

There is a small problem, however — "Jason Allen" isn't an NOA employee. Or at least, not anymore. One "Jason Allen" did work at the company, but left in 2008, and was a "Wii Specialist." As of right now, it's entirely possible that this "Jason Allen" is a different person, if that's even if this mystery troll's real name. I would encourage anyone to not bother or harass this very real person under any circumstances.

What's really alarming is that "Jason Allen" has not only an employee account, but another email with the URL "nintento.com" (this address redirects to a virus-laden website, so don't visit it.) Whoever this person really is, they have both a legitimate email and a misleading false one.

This brings into question whether or not this person has ever actually been a Nintendo employee. In fact, it brings into question whether or not "Jason Allen" actually exists at all.

This story could unravel in several different ways. Perhaps there is a real Jason Allen employed at Nintendo, and the takedowns of fan content and adult-oriented fan art are legitimate. Or perhaps an overzealous fan is intentionally sabotaging the livelihoods and hobbies of multiple communities. Either is a palpable option.

"Of course, we cannot say that we can give tacit approval to any and all the activities which threaten our intellectual properties. But on the other hand, it would not be appropriate if we treated people who did something based on affection for Nintendo, as criminals."

While this doesn't excuse Nintendo barring revenue from YouTubers, it may shed some light on a decent amount of copyright claims. CGM will get to the bottom of this story, and keep you updated with any breaking developments.

If it really just is some troll I'm curious about their motivations to spend this much time doing this. I mean there's for "the lulz" but how long is the same thing going to be funny for?

Jason

I just became aware of this tonight, but...That's my profile that everybody is talking about.

I did work as a "Wii Specialist" at Nintendo about a decade ago, but that was just in a call center, and nothing to do with legal. There is another Jason Allen that folks are pointing to that looks like he might actually be associated with these kind of efforts at:

If people are getting them even after this guy left Nintendo, I'm thinking it's possibly a Nintendo copyright bot that hasn't been updated with the new name of the person in charge since the other Jason Allen left?

I don't know if these take-down notices are actually coming from Nintendo or not, but they aren't coming from this fella, at least.